All Blacks 2025
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hearing that josh jacomb not leaving cheifs , re signing til post world cup , done deal
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hearing that josh jacomb not leaving cheifs , re signing til post world cup , done deal
@george34 said in All Blacks 2025:
hearing that josh jacomb not leaving cheifs , re signing til post world cup , done deal
100%? Haha
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hearing that josh jacomb not leaving cheifs , re signing til post world cup , done deal
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This post is deleted!
@george35 ok, let's just see how it plays out , at this stage ive herd done deal , just need pen on the pape r
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I won’t believe what @george34 or @george35 post until @george33 confirms.
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Chchfantic is a dick but he has good links to Robertson etc. If he says Fusitua might be a bolter, that's decent confirmation of what George said. George has also got a lot of things right around Blues/Auckland.. I don't think its fair to call him a liar.
His success rate is just in the 40-50% range. I hope he keeps posting what he hears
@Duluth said in All Blacks 2025:
Chchfantic is a dick but he has good links to Robertson etc. If he says Fusitua might be a bolter, that's decent confirmation of what George said. George has also got a lot of things right around Blues/Auckland.. I don't think its fair to call him a liar.
His success rate is just in the 40-50% range. I hope he keeps posting what he hears
Can't disagree with any of what you've said there.
As you said, better than 'oh yeah I did hear that' rubbish after not saying anything beforehand.
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@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks 2025:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2025:
@canefan said in All Blacks 2025:
While he can still pull out a good performance here and there, BBs best days are behind him. I think he is a liability to the development of the team as we move to 2027, Beaudy is taking time away from potential successors
When NZR signed a long-ish contract with him, I assumed the strategy was using him on the bench or providing an experienced backup allowing Robertson to blood new players at 10 and 15.
How wrong I was.
Robertson selected DMac as 1st choice 1st 5 from his first test, you know the less experienced guy who had not been the guy in 2023. And SP, the relatively green and inexperienced guy was selected at fullback. Barrett, the experienced backup on the bench.
So a tick, tick right?
Second test, the same selections. More ticks.
3rd, 4th and 5th tests DMac is still at 10. But we have a problem at fullback with Perofeta, so Tobertson selects Barrett at fullback and should’ve bit the bullet at that point and selected Jordan - which he eventually got to for the second Boks tests, the Bledisloe and all the bigger games for the NH tour. So new fullback blooded. Tick.
And SP also started a NH test at fullback. Tick.
> So after Bledisloe I there is an issue with DMac, so he is replaced by Barrett for 3 of the final 5 tests as the starter. No tick.
There was intent and endeavour, with those selections, and some missed opportunities as well but hardly all wrong.
This season we will see a much improved Love (didn’t think he played that well last season) make his move. And there is definitely one other on the coaches radar, but don’t want to jinx it by calling it out early
That right there is where I lost faith. Up until that point, I thought I could see a plan for the future. There was a fair bit of crap, but there were some genuinely excellent patches - e.g. the first half of Boks 1, they didn't look like they could stay with us, and we were looking good against the rush for the first time in forever.
As soon as we went back to Beauden I had no idea what he was trying to achieve anymore. Then when Beauden was injured and we beat Ireland with McKenzie central to it, I thought okay, back on track - and he fucking went and dropped McKenzie again.@reprobate it’s the most baffling aspect of last season for me. All the other changes and experiments you could see and even provide a half decent justification for. But the back and forth at 10 was not in the horses for courses or even in the form has dropped off the cliff realms.
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Looking at the terms of the JRK and Tangitau contracts. I reckon JRK is named, and Tangitau is listed is unavailable due to injury.
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I won’t believe what @george34 or @george35 post until @george33 confirms.
@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks 2025:
I won’t believe what @george34 or @george35 post until @george33 confirms.
"pape r" got me.
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Chchfantic is a dick but he has good links to Robertson etc. If he says Fusitua might be a bolter, that's decent confirmation of what George said. George has also got a lot of things right around Blues/Auckland.. I don't think its fair to call him a liar.
His success rate is just in the 40-50% range. I hope he keeps posting what he hears
@Duluth that’s not very nice. Why am I a dick. Cause I have good oil.
I’ve been off here for months. -
@Duluth that’s not very nice. Why am I a dick. Cause I have good oil.
I’ve been off here for months.@chchfanatic said in All Blacks 2025:
that’s not very nice. Why am I a dick
Hey, maybe you're a great guy. I have no idea. I'm calling you a dick based on your posts. You don't think you post like a dick? I thought you were proud of your aggressive online persona
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@Duluth that’s not very nice. Why am I a dick. Cause I have good oil.
I’ve been off here for months.@chchfanatic said in All Blacks 2025:
I’ve been off here for months.
Uncanny timing for your return.
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@Duluth that’s not very nice. Why am I a dick. Cause I have good oil.
I’ve been off here for months.@chchfanatic said in All Blacks 2025:
@Duluth that’s not very nice. Why am I a dick. Cause I have good oil.
I’ve been off here for months.Welcome back Mrs Robertson

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Article on Josh Fusitua as an AB prospect matched by one from Waikato on Ollie Norris.
What's pretty interesting is that Ryan appears to have given him a pretty stern message that 124kgs isn't big enough and they want him at 130kgs,
I've posted this old Gregor Paul article before - it's eight years old now - but, it's important - and it's behind the times.
Paul saying that five years ago (around 2012) AB props were 113-118kgs - "now" (2017) they ideally want them to be 118-125kgs. And now (2025) they want Norris at 130kgs.
Happening in other positions as well - McCaw was a big openside for his time - consistently listed at 108-109kgs. Most of the AB contenders there now are bigger than 110kgs. Be interesting to put Ardie on the scales these days.
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Article on Josh Fusitua as an AB prospect matched by one from Waikato on Ollie Norris.
What's pretty interesting is that Ryan appears to have given him a pretty stern message that 124kgs isn't big enough and they want him at 130kgs,
I've posted this old Gregor Paul article before - it's eight years old now - but, it's important - and it's behind the times.
Paul saying that five years ago (around 2012) AB props were 113-118kgs - "now" (2017) they ideally want them to be 118-125kgs. And now (2025) they want Norris at 130kgs.
Happening in other positions as well - McCaw was a big openside for his time - consistently listed at 108-109kgs. Most of the AB contenders there now are bigger than 110kgs. Be interesting to put Ardie on the scales these days.
@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2025:
Article on Josh Fusitua as an AB prospect matched by one from Waikato on Ollie Norris.
What's pretty interesting is that Ryan appears to have given him a pretty stern message that 124kgs isn't big enough and they want him at 130kgs,
I've posted this old Gregor Paul article before - it's eight years old now - but, it's important - and it's behind the times.
Paul saying that five years ago (around 2012) AB props were 113-118kgs - "now" (2017) they ideally want them to be 118-125kgs. And now (2025) they want Norris at 130kgs.
Happening in other positions as well - McCaw was a big openside for his time - consistently listed at 108-109kgs. Most of the AB contenders there now are bigger than 110kgs. Be interesting to put Ardie on the scales these days.
Power to weight is still more important than just "weight" though. Of the other AB loose forward contenders Wallace Sititi is the only one who remotely measures up to Savea as an explosive ball carrier.
I'd put Ardie at about 105kg or so, in other words comfortably the lightest All Black forward. An unusual thing to say for a guy very likely to play number 8.
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2025:
Article on Josh Fusitua as an AB prospect matched by one from Waikato on Ollie Norris.
What's pretty interesting is that Ryan appears to have given him a pretty stern message that 124kgs isn't big enough and they want him at 130kgs,
I've posted this old Gregor Paul article before - it's eight years old now - but, it's important - and it's behind the times.
Paul saying that five years ago (around 2012) AB props were 113-118kgs - "now" (2017) they ideally want them to be 118-125kgs. And now (2025) they want Norris at 130kgs.
Happening in other positions as well - McCaw was a big openside for his time - consistently listed at 108-109kgs. Most of the AB contenders there now are bigger than 110kgs. Be interesting to put Ardie on the scales these days.
Power to weight is still more important than just "weight" though. Of the other AB loose forward contenders Wallace Sititi is the only one who remotely measures up to Savea as an explosive ball carrier.
I'd put Ardie at about 105kg or so, in other words comfortably the lightest All Black forward. An unusual thing to say for a guy very likely to play number 8.
@MN5 Everyone is in the gym though so additional power is coming with additional weight.
That article says Ardie was targeting 106kgs seven years ago and I'd be surprised if he stopped there. But, he's on the short side for a loose forward, so harder for him to effectively carry the same weight on his frame compared with the taller guys.
e.g. Dave Havili said he'd shed a couple of kgs this season and improved his mobility - presumably gone past his "sweet spot" mentioned in Paul's article.
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Article on Josh Fusitua as an AB prospect matched by one from Waikato on Ollie Norris.
What's pretty interesting is that Ryan appears to have given him a pretty stern message that 124kgs isn't big enough and they want him at 130kgs,
I've posted this old Gregor Paul article before - it's eight years old now - but, it's important - and it's behind the times.
Paul saying that five years ago (around 2012) AB props were 113-118kgs - "now" (2017) they ideally want them to be 118-125kgs. And now (2025) they want Norris at 130kgs.
Happening in other positions as well - McCaw was a big openside for his time - consistently listed at 108-109kgs. Most of the AB contenders there now are bigger than 110kgs. Be interesting to put Ardie on the scales these days.
@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2025:
Article on Josh Fusitua as an AB prospect matched by one from Waikato on Ollie Norris.
What's pretty interesting is that Ryan appears to have given him a pretty stern message that 124kgs isn't big enough and they want him at 130kgs,
I've posted this old Gregor Paul article before - it's eight years old now - but, it's important - and it's behind the times.
Paul saying that five years ago (around 2012) AB props were 113-118kgs - "now" (2017) they ideally want them to be 118-125kgs. And now (2025) they want Norris at 130kgs.
Props are going to have to be the height of locks to carry that level of weight and fitness. I remember Greg Somerville saying how difficult it was to maintain his weight and fitness back then.